Single Room Occupancy Program

Overview

Background

The City of South Lake Tahoe recognizes that for certain residents, quality affordable rental housing has been difficult to obtain. In recent years many older hotel/motel properties have responded to the demand for lower income and workforce housing by converting their use from transient lodging to long term living facilities. Although this has fulfilled some of the demand for affordable housing, the conditions in these converted motel rooms are often poor.

Measures

The City of South Lake Tahoe Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Program implemented common sense regulations for the use of hotel/motel rooms as quality transitional housing. Forty-three (43) hotels and motels have registered for the SRO program and inspections are well underway. Initial inspections have revealed substandard housing issues, however, most property owners are working diligently towards compliance.

Implementation

Hotels/Motels that rent one (1) or more rooms for thirty (30) consecutive days are subject to the rules and regulations established by the SRO program. Examples of retrofits to SRO properties include, common kitchens, identifying placards, functional smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, etc.. For a detailed list of all requirements under the SRO Program, please view the documents below:

According to the California Code of Regulations, Title 25, Article 5, Section 42: “A manager, janitor, housekeeper, or other responsible person shall reside upon the premises and shall have charge of every apartment house in which there are 16 or more apartments, and of every hotel in which there are 12 or more guest rooms, in the event that the owner of any such apartment house or hotel does not reside upon said premises. Only one caretaker would be required for all structures under one ownership and on one continuous parcel of land. If the owner does not reside upon the premises of any apartment house in which there are more than four but less than 16 apartments, a notice stating his name and address, or the name and address of his agent in charge of the apartment house, shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the premises.”